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Dragons blow away Hawks

Josh Balloon and Matt Glavich each score three touchdowns in a 63-0 rout, handing Armwood the worst defeat in its 16-year history.

By FRANK PASTOR

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 8, 2001

TAMPA -- Pigs flew. Hell froze over. Dennis Miller finally made sense.

Seldom has Hillsborough County seen anything as strange -- or unexpected -- as what happened Friday night at Horton Stadium.

In a game that was supposed to determine the early favorite for the Class 4A, District 8 championship, Jefferson walloped Armwood 63-0. The defeat was the worst in the Hawks' 16-year history, eclipsing even a 56-7 loss to Lakeland in 1998.

"This was the most embarrassing moment for me and my staff in my coaching career," said Armwood coach Sean Callahan, who is in his 12th season.

Josh Balloon rushed for three touchdowns, Matt Glavich passed for three and Andre Caldwell scored two as Jefferson rolled to a 42-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

"I could have expected us winning by 28 or something like that because of how good we are, but I never expected this," Glavich said.

"We just clicked. The pieces are all together now."

The Dragons had motivation.

Three years ago, Armwood thumped them 40-0. Though the teams' personnel has changed considerably since, the game served as a rallying point for Jefferson.

"That's been on my mind since the day we played them," coach Mike Simmonds said.

Jefferson (2-0) took advantage of Armwood's special teams problems to jump out to an early lead.

Punter John Dinovo averaged just 21 yards, allowing Jefferson to start four of its six first-half possessions in Armwood territory.

Jeremy Burnett partially blocked a punt, and Rashaun Grant returned another 18 yards to set up Jefferson scoring drives. Willie Lindsey ripped the ball out of kick returner R.J. Anderson's hands and raced 15 yards for another touchdown.

"It was like the twilight zone," Callahan said. "Every possible thing that could have happened, happened."

Mike Allen-Taylor recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass to lead a Jefferson defense that did not allow Armwood past midfield until late in the second quarter.

Jermaine Lemons had a sack, and Burnett and Gerald Smith made tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Armwood, which lost 18 starters from last season's Class 3A state semifinal squad, has been down before. One week after the '98 loss to Lakeland, the Hawks defeated a strong East Bay team to qualify for the playoffs.

"We'll just use that as an example to our team," Callahan said.

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